Sandy Lake pottery has been found throughout northwestern Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota.
Woodland period.
Sandy Lake ceramics are closely related to Blackduck and Clam River ceramics (Cooper & Johnson, 1964), which are found in the same area as Sandy Lake. The bodies of all three types are very similar; the distinguishing trait is the rim or lip of the pottery.
The sides of the Sandy Lake pottery are symmetrical and well-built. The lip of the pottery has rectangular impressions, probably made by a smooth spatulate (Birk, 1977). The pottery ranges in size; the body is generally 3-7 mm thick and the rim is about 1 cm thick. The surface of the body usually has cord markings on it. The shape of the pottery is squat or globular, and rarely has shoulders.
The color ranges from a light reddish-brown to a dark gray. Dark gray is the most common color.
Sandy Lake ceramics are usually tempered with shell, but occasionally a grit temper is found. The contents of the pottery show evidence of crushed granite and coarse sand. Carbonized, black residue is found on some of the pottery, but the nature of the residue is unknown (Birk, 1977).
Very little of the Sandy Lake pottery found is decorated. The only evidence of decoration is a few indentations (similar to zig-zags) on the lip of the pottery. These were probably made by a sharp-edged implement (Cooper & Johnson, 1964).
Since the ceramics were generally not decorated, their purpose was probably utilitarian.
Two major sites where Sandy Lake pottery was found:
Birk, Douglas A., "Two Sandy Lake Ware Vessels From Onigum Point, Cass Count, Minnesota" in The Minnesota Archaeologist, Volume 36, No. 1, pp. 9-15.1977.
Cooper, Leland R. and Elden Johnson, "Sandy Lake Ware and Its Distribution" in American Antiquity, Volume 29, No.4, pp. 474-479. 1964.